Umbrella system

ABSTRACT

An operating mechanism for “patio type” umbrellas uses an actuator sleeve in order to open and close the canopy. The sleeve is in connection with rods on the canopy that in turn can open and close the canopy. The actuator sleeve is guided by two fixed supports, the outer and inner sleeve that form a channel. The actuator sleeve can travel within the channel is limited in travel via a slot on the actuator sleeve that interacts with a bolt on the inner sleeve. Movement of the actuator sleeve upward will the inner ribs downward so as to close the canopy. Movement of the actuator sleeve downward will pull the ribs away from the central shaft and hence open the canopy. The latch is used to lock the actuator sleeve in position vis a vis the inner sleeve.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of umbrellas and, in particular, tothose umbrellas used to cover tables and the like in outdoor settings.Typically such larger canopies are used to cover those tables in patiosfor restaurants and the like. Such canopies are typically significantlylarger than ordinary hand held umbrellas and greater force is needed tooperate them. The actuator sleeve shown and described herein is believedto work well in such applications that call for large canopies.

It is believed that the invention will find its greatest use in openingand closing “patio” type canopies which are very popular in restaurantsthat feature and outdoor settings. Such umbrellas have large canopiesthat are typically much larger than ordinary hand held umbrellas. Suchpatio umbrellas of course have larger components: longer length supportribs, larger canopy, larger shafts, etc. Most such canopies use a manualcrank in order to open and close the canopy. This requires a greaterforce for the user to turn the crank and also places additional strainon the cables associated with the mechanism. As the crank turns, thecord or cable is wound upon a drum or similar mechanism, this means thatas the cable is wound, the radius of the cable on the drum increases andthe drum becomes harder to turn near the end of the cranking. This mayresult in damage or breaking the cable and also requires greater forcefor the one using the crank. There is also the possibility of bindingthe cable when using a crank mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An operating mechanism for “patio type” canopies or umbrellas that usesan actuator sleeve that slides in between two sleeves that act as fixedsupport apparatus. The actuator sleeve moves ribs that can open andclose the canopy. There are two fixed uprights that are hollow in orderto allow the actuator sleeve to travel within this space.

The actuator is connected to the “hub” that is a connecting point forthe ribs of the canopy. The ribs are connected to fabric or some suchthat provides the shading effect of the canopy. Movement of the actuatorsleeve upward will drive the ribs downward and the lift actuators upwardso as to close the canopy. Movement of the actuator sleeve downward willpull the ribs away from the inner sleeve and hence open the canopy. Thelatch will need to be used when the canopy is opened in order to fix itin place. Both of these movements are made easier by lift actuators ofrelatively short length that connect the ribs to the main shaft andpivot throughout the movement. Because of the short length of the ribscombined with the weight of the canopy itself, it is believed that thisinvention makes such large, “patio type” umbrellas easier to open andclose using this sleeve apparatus.

It is an object of the invention to provide an actuator means for largercanopies used in patio and other outdoor settings that has a reducedlength of travel for the actuating parts in order to reduce the amountof vertical clearance needed for such applications.

Another object of the invention is to provide an actuating means forcanopies that travels on the outside of the fixed support structure andthus provides for a more effective means for opening and closing suchcanopies.

It is an object of the invention to provide an opening and closingsystem for larger type canopies that is easy to use and easy tomanufacture based upon fewer moving parts and using the weight of thecanopy to do part of the work.

Other objectives of the invention will become apparent to those skilledin the art once the invention has been shown and described.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

FIG. 1 overall construction of the system with canopy deployed;

FIG. 2 view with canopy closed; most or all of the slot extends abovethe bolt;

FIG. 3 detail of actuator sleeve;

FIG. 4 detail of outer sleeve and base.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The overall construction of the canopy deployment system is shown inFIG. 1. There are two upright supports that are fixed in place, 1 and 3.The upright 3 is referred to as the “outer sleeve” and is fixed inconnection to a table 10 and extends all the way to the ground. Innersleeve 1 is rigidly connected to the inside of upright 3 and a channelis formed between these two structures. The channel is formed betweenthe outer wall of rod 1 and the inside of the wall of outer sleeve 3 andso the channel begins at the top of the outersleeve (designated as 40 inFIG. 1) and extends to almost near the bottom of the outer sleeve, ornear 15 in FIG. 1.

This channel will then accommodate the sliding actuator sleeve (5 and 2)that controls the opening and closing action of the canopy (canopyincludes ribs 12 as well as actuator rods 14 as well as fabric, notshown, in connection with ribs). The inner sleeve 1 thus extends downthrough the outer sleeve and is connected to that support at a point 15somewhere near the bottom of the outer sleeve. Whereas the outer sleeveextends upward only to the level of the table 10, the inner sleeve willextend far above the table in order support the yoke 24 and theaccompanying hardware that forms the canopy.

In FIG. 1, the inner sleeve cannot be seen other than that part, theyoke, 24 which is in connection with the top of the inner sleeve. Theactuator sleeve can be seen as 5 and a portion of the same actuatorsleeve can be seen as 2. That portion being above the yoke 24. Thechannel or slot 26 would be seen on the outside of the actuator sleeve.

The actuator sleeve 5 is not connected rigidly to these static supports(outer and inner sleeve) at all but merely slides within the channelformed inside the two supports. The movement of the actuator is limitedby the channel interaction with the bolt. When the end of the channel orthe bottom of the channel abuts that bolt 42 on the yoke, the travelwill be stopped. When pulling the actuator downward, the top of the slotwill abut the botl and when pulling the actuator upward the bottom ofthe slot will abut the bolt and cause movements to stop.

The actuator sleeve is connected to the central hub 22 of the canopy,that hub that is in connection with those ribs 12 that support thecanopy. The construction is very similar to that of an umbrella wherethere are spokes or struts extending outward from a central hub andthese serve as a support for the fabric of the umbrella. The canopy maybe constructed to operate in the same or in a similar way.

Thus the actuator sleeve is free to travel within the channel and can befixed into position when the latch 20 is used to secure the position ofthe sleeve vis a vis that of the fixed supports (1 and 3). Normally, theactuator sleeve will be free to travel and the weight of the canopyitself will be the only force that is acting upon it.

The sleeve 3 thus moves over the upright rod 1 and this will control theopening and closing of the canopy through the movement of the ribs 12and lift actuators 14 (see FIG. 2). Moving the sleeve upward will forcethose ribs 12 downward forcing the canopy that is connected to thestruts downward and flush against the upright 1. Thus moving the sleeveup will close the canopy, see FIG. 2. Likewise, moving the sleeve downwill open the canopy as this will force the struts 12 to move upward andaway from the upright 1 and thus forcing the canopy to open. See FIG. 1.

To guide the movements of this actuator sleeve there is a yoke 24 thatis also in connection to the lift actuators 14 of the canopy. This yokeis in connection with these lift actuators and of course guides theopening and closing of the actuator sleeve. The yoke is fixed, rigidlyto the inner sleeve 1 via a bolt 42 (or similar means for securing theyoke to an upright) that extends through the slot 26 in the actuatorsleeve and into the inner sleeve 1.

Thus, to close the canopy: when the canopy is open, and the actuatorsleeve 5/2 is moved up, this will force the canopy closed as the struts12 and arms 14 will begin to align them selves parallel to the upright1. Since the yoke is fixed in place this will happen by the upwardmovement of the sleeve 5/2.

To open the canopy: the downward movement of the sleeve 2 (when thecanopy is closed) will force the lift actuators 14 and the ribs 12 topivot in relation to each other and the canopy will be forced outwardfrom the upright. The latch will be used to secure the canopy in thisposition.

There must be a slot or channel 26 in the actuator sleeve in order forthe bolt to secure the actuator sleeve to the upright 1. Otherwise therewould be nowhere for the actuator sleeve to move since it would butt upagainst the bolt. Hence, the use of the slot 26 in order to permit thetravel of the actuator sleeve upward and downward until it abuts thebolt.

As mentioned above, the actuator sleeve is freely movable within thetubular shaped gap inside the uprights 1 and 3. When the canopy isclosed, the sleeve will be in an upward position and the weight of thecanopy will tend to hold the sleeve in this upwardly advanced position.See FIG. 2 where the slot can be seen above the bolt. Note, it is notnecessary to secure the canopy via the latch when in this position.However, the invention will need to have a securing means, such as alatch, for the open position.

The latch 20 is designed so that it will engage a portion of theactuator sleeve when the sleeve is moved downward. The latch should beconnected to the outside of the actuator sleeve. The latch may have forinstance a plunger that is spring loaded and extends through holes inthe actuator sleeve and the inner sleeve 1. There may be holes 30 in theactuator sleeve and holes 31 in the inner sleeve in order to allow theplunger or similar locking means of the latch to travel into these holesand secure the position of the actuator sleeve vis a vis the innersleeve.

The plunger on the latch will interact with the holes in the actuatorsleeve and inner sleeve once the actuator sleeve is lowered down.Obviously, the position of the latch vis a vis the inner sleeve must bechosen so that it will engage the holes only when the canopy has beenfully deployed during the downward movement of the actuator. During thedownward movement, the engagement means will come into contact with theaforementioned holes and thus the actuator sleeve will be secured intoposition vis a vis the uprights with the canopy in the deployedposition.

The latch may be chosen of any type of construction that will fit thisapplication. It is only necessary that this latch be a means forsecuring the position of the actuator sleeve vis a vis the inner sleevewhen the canopy has been opened. It should be strong enough to supportthe weight of the canopy and sleeve, etc. and should be able to lock itinto position once the engaging means has contacted the appropriateholes or some such. Presumably there are many state of the art devicesthat would achieve this goal.

A base shown in FIG. 4 maybe used in connection with the outer sleeve inorder to provide a solid and level footing for the overall system. Theremay be a rod with groves 32 that extends downward from the outer sleeveand can be screwed into the threaded hole 33 in the center of the base.Similar apparatus may be used to provide overall support and stabilityto the working parts of the invention.

1. An improved patio canopy apparatus comprising: a first and secondupright support means, said first upright support means of a hollowsection and able to accommodate said second upright support means so asto form a hollow section between said first and second upright supportmeans, said first upright support means in connection with a table andsaid first upright support means extending from said table to a distancebelow said table, and said second upright support means extending abovesaid table, an actuator sleeve having a top and a bottom portion and ofsize able to fit inside said hollow section and fixed for sliding up anddown within said hollow section and for sliding on the outside of saidsecond upright support means, a canopy of size sufficient to cover saidtable and having a series of struts extending from the edges of saidcanopy and converging upon a centralized point, said top portion of saidactuator sleeve in connection with said centralized point, a pluralityof ribs; each of said ribs in connection with one of said struts andsaid ribs extending from said struts to a circular shaped yoke, saidyoke fixed upon said second support means via a bolt means, said bolt inconnection with said yolk and said second upright support means, saidactuator sleeve having a slot suitable to slide over said bolt meanswhen said actuator sleeve moves up and down, a means for engaging saidactuator sleeve and fixing said sleeve into position vis a vis saidsecond upright means, said engagement means in connection with saidsecond upright means and positioned upon said means so that when saidactuator sleeve is moved downward to fully deploy said canopy over saidtable, said sleeve will engage said engagement means and said sleevewill be fixed into position.